"Last year I was an extra on the set of the Fox Films' shoot of Flicka, and witnessed the cruel use of horses in what is known as a "Wild Horse Race." Wranglers chase frightened horses around a ring, and try to drag them down and mount them. The horses are terrified, and in the case I witnessed one was tripped on its rope, kicked in the head, and died an agonizing death.
There was absolutely no justification for subjecting horses to this inhumane treatment, except to shoot a sensational scene to make money for Fox. This was the second horse to die at the hands of Fox in the re-make of My Friend Flicka.
Just as disturbing was the fact that the film's star, Tim McGraw, hasn't had the guts to even comment on the death of that poor horse. I had been a big fan of Tim McGraw, and I'm sure many of us now are terribly disappointed in him. Shame on you, Tim!
The American Humane Association, which supposedly protects animals in the film industry, receives a percentage of the box office earned by Flicka, putting them squarely into bed with the Fox production company. They have gone out of their way to try to convince the public that animal endangerment and cruelty by Fox was just an "accident." That is kind of like the fox guarding the henhouse. And the only enforcement the AHA employs is whether to award a movie the little "No Animal Was Harmed" logo in the credits.
On the set of Flicka, when I confronted AHA representatives to demand to know why they permitted the wild horse race in which the horse was brutally killed, they replied that it wasn't abuse if it wasn't illegal! This boycott is about more than 2 horses killed by Fox Films. It will send a message to the industry that movie goers will not tolerate cruelty and exploitation of animals in the making of films. And it will make the American Humane Association re-evaluate its role as pimp for the studios!" |
